Experimental Measurement of Thixotropy and Sensitivity in Gulf of Mexico Clay

摘要

Processes such as pile penetration and cyclic loading cause a loss of soil strength, some of which is recovered through re-consolidation and thixotropic strength gain. In this study, the remolded strength and the thixotropic strength recovery will be measured in Gulf of Mexico (GoM) clay using two techniques: the full-flow penetrometer (cyclic T-bar) and the miniature vane shear test. Most of the previous studies were limited to 60 days of time of curing. Therefore, this study extended the cure period to 114 days to fill the existing gap in long-term measurements of thixotropic strength recovery in this clay. The results show that the gain in strength due to thixotropy effect under a long time period was about 0 to 30% during the first day and it continues to increase sharply to about ~ 80 % after prolonged periods of time. This study adds to the database evaluating the gain in shear strength under prolonged time using different types of testing at different depths for Gulf of Mexico clay.